Cleaning and drying device



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 11, 1963 m h i" Airmen er.

Feb. 23, 1965 w. VON WERDER 3,170,181

CLEANING AND DRYING DEVICE Filed March 11, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 70 o oo o v o o o ,INVENTOR.

Arrow/er.

United States Patent 3,170,181 I CLEANING AND DRYING DEVICE William VonWerder, Hyattsville, Md. (8239 New Hampshire Ave., West Hyattsville,Md.) Filed Mar. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 264,193 Claims. (Cl. -4)

This invention relates to cleaning and drying devices for hairbrushes,combs and the like.

In a beauty salon there is a need for maintaining utensils such asbrushes, combs, rolls, etc. in a clean and sanitary condition, at alltimes. The manual cleaning of these utensils and the drying processesnow in use are often tedious chores and are sometimes unsatisfactorybecause they are not carried out carefully and thoroughly.

The object of the present invention is to provide a combination cleanerand drier unit which will clean the utensils thoroughly in a cleaningfluid, and when the fluid is withdrawn, will quickly dry them bycirculation of hot air.

A further object is to provide a container of suitable size having amotor driven fan with a heater element, and a wire cage around the fanand heater element, the motor being mountable over an opening in the topof the container through which its shaft extends to the fan near thebottom of the container, the motor and fan unit being removable throughsaid opening for inspection or repair.

A further object is to provide a drain cock at the bottom of thecontainer and an inlet valve near the top.

A further object is to provide a rotatable perforated drum in saidcontainer, perforated at least at its closed bottom and entirely open atthe top for receiving the articles to be cleaned and dried through theopening in the top of the container, the drum being mounted for rotationby the fan motor, the fan in this case comprising peripheral vanes aboutthe drum for inducing a downward flow of the fluid in the outer annularportion of the container.

A further object is too make the perforated bottom of the drum annularlywavy to induce turbulence into the fluid flow produced by the fan, forbetter cleaning and drying penetration throughout the parts of thearticles being cleaned or dried within the drum.

Other and more specific objects will become apparent in the followingdetailed description of some preferred forms of the invention, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view in elevation of a preferred form of theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof on a reduced scale,

FIG. 3 is a broken sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view in elevation of another form of theinvention,

FIG. 6 is a plan view thereof on a reduced scale, and

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view taken on the line '7-'7 in FIG. 5.

The two general forms of the invention differ primarily in that in oneform the articles treated are not rotated, in the other they are.

The first form comprises the container 10 having a circular cover, halfof which is fixed to the top of the container, the other half 12 beinghinged on a diametrical hinge 14 and has a knob 16 with a latch cam 18,for locking it in closed position as shown in full lines in FIG. 1 andfor lifting it into open position as indicated in dotted lines, whendesired.

The fixed half 20 of the cover has an opening 22 over which the motor 24may be mounted on a sealing ring 26, and firmly locked thereto by camlatches 28. The openice ing 22 is large enough to permit insertion ofthe impeller 30 on the end of the shaft 32 therethrough, with the wirecage 34 in place around the impeller, and the heaterelement 36 fixedtherein. The coarse wire grid 33 in the bottom of the container is forholding the articles placed therein for cleaning, off the bottom surfaceof the container and any dirt accumulated thereon, and to provideclearance under the articles for the circulation of the drying airduring the drying operation. 7

A drain cock 4!) is provided for draining the dirty fluid after thecleaning operation and before drying is begun. A heater switch 42 may beprovided on the motor for turning on the heater either to heat thecleaning fluid in the container if desired and to heat the air duringthe hot air drying operation. A three position (hi-lo-otl) switch 44 maybe provided on the motor for operating the impeller at a lower speedduring the cleaning operation to provide ample turbulence in thecleaning fluid, and at higher speed during the drying operation toprovide a good blower fan turbulence of hot air. A circular slotted ventvalve 46 may be provided around an upper portion of the container foropening by means of an external ear 48 during the drying process to ventthe vapor laden air from the container. More venting may be provided ifnecessary, by opening the drain cook 40 and the cover 12. A filler cock56 may be provided for connection to a source of cleaning fiuid supply.

A preliminary hair removing bristle brush 52 may be provided on thecover 12 for use on the articles before inserting them inside thecontainer, to keep away large accumulations of air from the cleaningfluid. This preliminary hair removal may be done by a rotating bristlebrush 54 mounted on the upper end of the motor 56 as shown in FIG. 5. Ahinge guard cover 58 may be used to prevent accidental entanglementswhen not in use.

FIG. 5 further shows the modification with a rotating drum 60, open atthe top for the reception of the articles to be cleaned or dried. A door62 hinged on the side of the container 64 may be provided for access tothe inside of the container. A latch cam 66 on the handle 68 may beprovided for locking this door in sealed position during the cleaningoperation, and for opening it during the drying operation.

The motor 56 has a shaft 70 passing through the center of the top 72 ofthe container, and drives the drum 60 in its thrust bearing 74 in thebottom of the container 64. The drum 60 has peripherally spaced helicalvanes '76 around its sides to provide a downward flow in the annularspace between the drum and the container wall. A perforated bottom 78 inthe drum may be made annularly wavy to provide an ample washingturbulence in the cleaning fluid flow upwardly therethrough during thelow speed operation of motor 56, and a good drying penetration of thehot air flow through the articles during the high speed operation.

The heater element 80 in this case may extend peripherally in the upperportion of the container, resting on bracket supports 82 extendinginwardly from the wall of the container, near the level of the top ofthe drum 60.

The present device is adaptable as a sterilizing unit when not in use asa cleaner or dryer. Any sterilizing fluid may be used in the bottomofthe container, in which the articles may then be stored forsterilization until they are again used.

Many other obvious modifications in the details and arrangement of partsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: I

1. A cleaner and dryer unit for brushes, combs and the like, comprisinga container for said brushes, combs and the like, having an access doorand a shut-off valve controlled ventilator opening to the atmosphere atthe top and a drain cock at the bottom adapted to completely drain thecontainer for the drying operation,

perforated means for holding said brushes, combs and the like spaced offthe bottom of the container,

a heater element in said container for heating the fluid containedtherein during both the cleaning and drying operations,

an impeller element close to said heater element so as to cause a fullflow of the fluid past said heater element, said flow being directeddownwardly for inducing a turbulent circulation of said heated fluidunder said perforated means and upwardly through the items to be cleanedand dried during the correspond ing operation, the ventilator valvebeing preferably open during the drying operation.

2. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 1, and a preliminary hairremoving means on the outside of said container for preconditioning thearticles to be cleaned before they are placed in the container.

3. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 1, and a motor on top ofsaid container for driving said impeller element.

4. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 3, said motor being atwo-speed motor having a low-speed for the cleaning operation in acleaning liquid and a highspeed for the drying operation in hot air.

5. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 4, said motor having a shaftextending to the impeller element in the container for inducing adownward flow against a restricted portion of the bottom of thecontainer.

6. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 5, said impeller element andshaft being eccentrically positioned relative to the container, and aguard screen formed around the impeller means to avoid damage of thearticles being cleaned or dried in the container.

7. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 5, said impeller meanscomprising a hollow drum centrally mounted in said container havingperipherally spaced helical vanes for inducing an annular downward flowof fluid in said container.

8. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 7, said drum having aperforated bottom spaced from the bottom of the container to provide anupward flow of the fluid through said hollow drum, said drum being openat the top to receive the articles to be cleaned or dried.

9. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 8, said perforated bottom ofthe drum being annularly wavy to increase turbulence in the circulatingflow for better penetration of the fluid around and between the articlesin the drum.

10. A cleaner-dryer unit as defined in claim 9, a preliminary hairremoving means comprising a bristle brush mounted above said motor on anextension of its shaft, and a guard cover mounted over said brush.

19/00 Great Britain.

8/99 Switzerland.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

1. A CLEANER AND DRYER UNIT FOR BRUSHES, COMBS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISINGA CONTAINER FOR SAID BRUSHES, COMBS AND THE LIKE, HAVING AN ACCESS DOORAND A SHUT-OFF VALVE CONTROLLED VENTILATOR OPENING TO THE ATMOSPHERE ATTHE TOP AND A DRAIN COCK AT THE BOTTOM ADAPTED TO COMPLETELY DRAIN THECONTAINER FOR THE DRYING OPERATION, PERFORATED MEANS FOR HOLDING SAIDBRUSHES, COMBS AND THE LIKE SPACED OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE CONTAINER, AHEATER ELEMENT IN SAID CONTAINER FOR HEATING THE FLUID CONTAINED THEREINDURING BOTH THE CLEANING AND DRYING OPERATIONS, AN IMPELLER ELEMENTCLOSE TO SAID HEATER ELEMENT SO AS TO CAUSE A FULL FLOW OF THE FLUIDPAST SAID HEATER ELEMENT, SAID FLOW BEING DIRECTED DOWNWARDLY FORINDUCING A TURBULENT CIRCULATION OF SAID HEATED FLUID UNDER SAIDPERFORATED MEANS AND UPWARDLY THROUGH THE ITEMS TO BE CLEANED AND DRIEDDURING THE CORRESPONDING OPERATION, THE VENTILATOR VALVE BEINGPREFERABLY OPEN DURING THE DRYING OPERATION.